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Valena Darkstar
Biography Born in 272 on a small rocky island in the Stepstones, Valena was raised to be the heir to House Darkstar. Long ago the house had once ruled the Torrentine, but that only lasted less than a generation before the Daynes reclaimed their throne. Though Damon Darkstar died, his heir and some of his mercenary company, the Bloody Blades, survived and escaped to the Stepstones. The Bloody Blades relocated to the Free Cities and became a group of sellsails. Valena’s father, Joffrey Darkstar, was a drunkard and a man of ill-repute that decided it would be better for the Bloody Blades to just take money rather than earn it. His attempt at making the sellsails a pirate group ended with what could only be considered disappointment, as many of the sellsails left in disgust. The group was only left with a few warships. Only lone cogs with poor cargo were caught. Frustrated with his failures, Joffrey turned wrathful and lustful. He had taken a woman as a concubine on one of his raids, and she bore him an heir in the form of Valena. She grew up among docks, taverns, and warships. It was a poor upbringing, but she at least had her mother there for her, and a brother, Quentyn, three years younger than her. She was never taught much, as her mother knew little and her father cared little. She did learn strength though and gained a sense of **vitality**. Whenever Joffrey ended up blacking out or going on a raid, Valena wasn’t watched over by her mother. She cared for her, but couldn’t keep her out of trouble in the rough taverns and such they stayed in. Instead, it was the treasurer for the Bloody Blades, Maron Wooden-Leg. He had lost a leg to an infected wound, and wasn’t great at his job, but he was better than anything else the pirates had. Maron did do one thing well though, he cared for Valena and showed her genuine care when Joffrey didn’t. Valena’s mother died of sickness when she was only ten. Whereas her father had once taken out his frustrations on her mother, he now took them out on her. She was beaten, and taught that she was worthless. Years of this abuse drove her to became obsessed with proving herself to be something. It was all for naught though. Joffrey Darkstar only ignored her successes, and harshly punished her failures. On a raid one day in 290, Joffrey Darkstar was slain in combat and Valena inherited his position as captain of the Bloody Blades. She still sought to prove herself to be better than her father, and actually worthy of something, so she accepted the position with vigour. Valena became fueled with rage and a need to prove her honor and worth. The pirates under her saw first hand how that rage easily became manifested in her vicious dueling with a **two-handed** greatsword. A few years passed by, but she still couldn’t manage to make her small group of pirates any better. During this period of few years, she tried a few times to make the Bloody Blades a sellsail group again. They had fallen too far though. Nobody would hire them, and so Valena fell back into the habits she learned from her father. She terrorized defenseless ships. She keelhauled those that didn’t do their job well enough. She commited **arson** on towns that resisted. Mercy pleas were rarely heeded. Valena wasn’t always cruel though, she kept her eyes on her goal with the help of Maron Wooden-Leg. He tried to remind her of her goal to prove herself as better and with honor, and not like her father. Unfortunately, Maron’s lessons were rarely heeded. They kept Valena from ever going too far, but she began to view him as a senseless old man and less of a role model. Her father’s legacy had a strong impact on Valena’s brother as well, but in a different way. While Valena kept trying to prove herself to be honorable and better than her father, Quentyn *was* encouraged by her father. He followed the path of Joffrey Darkstar. He became a skilled raider, an alcoholic, and no sense of honor or respect for Valena. Still, she loved him as a brother and couldn’t bare to punish him for dissent. Unlike her brother, she still tried to show honor -- though that usually ended in failure. Vortimer Flowers soon came on to her radar, and while Valena was no fan of his hangings. What did attract her though, was his contract from Yronwood. He was to raid the coast of the Torrentine, the homeland which Valena only had heard stories about. The opportunity to prove herself, strike back at the Daynes, and to see the Torrentine was too much to resist. She cast aside what little morals she had left and joined the Thorn. The Bloody Blades did very little in Thorn’s war, mostly just raiding very small settlements. Still, seeing the Torrentine was great for Valena. She fell in love with the land, and wished she could live there like her ancestors. The small war was short lived however. Dayne forces defeated the Thorn. During the Battle of Oakenwater not only was the war lost, but the Bloody Blades were shattered, and Valena’s younger brother was slain. In 296, Valena became the last of the Darkstars. Valena didn’t give up though, she just became more determined. She saw that the Daynes were her enemy. If she could defeat them, she would prove her honor and worth. She would live in her homeland. She would avenge her brother. Dethroning House Dayne became her obsession, but without any men or ships left, she would need to find a new way to fight them. For the next two years, Valena wandered around the Stepstones and the Free Cities. She was looking for a solution to how to possibly take down the Daynes. She trained with the sword more. She became more invested in the religion of R’hllor. Some of them even taught her more about **arson**, allowing her to light her sword on fire. It was good training, but eventually she figured it wasn’t going to bring her any closer to achieving her goals. Darkstar scoured the Stepstones for the remnants of the Bloody Blades, and renamed them the Sea Snakes to hide their questionable history and make them seem like a sellsail group. It would have to be enough, for she wasn’t delaying her visit to Dorne any longer. Now was the time to prove herself, and gain honor. Now was the time for destiny. Timeline * 272 - Valena is born in the Stepstones * 275 - Quentyn Darkstar is born * 283 - Valena's mother dies, and Joffrey Darkstar starts to abuse her more * 290 - Joffrey Darkstar dies in a raid, and Valena becomes Captain of the Bloody Blades * 295 - The Bloody Blades join Vortimer Flowers' pirates. * 296 - Valena's brother dies, and the Bloody Blades are scattered. * 297 - Valena goes around the Stepstones and Free Cities training martially, and learning from Red Priests. * 298 - Valena Darkstar gathers the remnants of the Bloody Blades, and renames them the Sea Snakes, hiding the fact that they used to be pirates. Family * Joffrey Darkstar - 290 AA * Sarella Darkstar - 283 AA) ** Valena Darkstar (25) ** Quentyn Darkstar (d. 296) Supporting Characters Anthor - Ship Captain Maron - Ship Captain Olyvar - Ship Captain [[Category:House Dayne] Category:Dornish